


takes one to know one

by mrpascals



Category: Bloodsucking Bastards (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Demons, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Slow Burn, Succubi & Incubi, True Love, Vampire Hunters, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 17:16:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29545713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrpascals/pseuds/mrpascals
Summary: Max can’t take his eyes off the new intern and suspects she’s hiding something. What he doesn’t know is that a monster, much like him, might have been hired right under his nose. [Max Phillips x Succubus!Reader]***This series contains sexual themes, death and blood related subjects, and smut. Read it at your own risk.***
Relationships: Max Phillips/Reader, Max Phillips/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> I debated to make this an oc, but I decided to leave it as a reader insert, but I’ll tag it properly and try to be non descriptive as possible. Feel free to call me out if necessary. The prologue is written using the pronouns she/her, but the rest of series is written using you/your. Anyway, this is a thing yeah, and I decided to post the prologue now, just to test the waters, see if people indulge with it, lol. **Be warned that this series will contain sexual themes, smut and death/gore related subjects. Read it at your own risk!! And please let me know what you think!**
> 
> warnings: death, blood, gore. +18 ONLY!!!!

The first thing she hears when she wakes up is the sound of the waterfall far away. Her mouth is dry and her limbs are numb. Her eyelids flutter before snapping open as she gasps for air. The rocks under her back hurt her bare skin and the cold air gives her chills, but she’s not bothered by it. She’s not wearing her glasses anymore, but it wouldn’t make a difference, it’s too dark for her to see anything. In fact, she’s not wearing any clothes and she certainly doesn’t remember wandering off naked in the woods in the dead of night. The last thing she remembers is sneaking off her house to go to Mary’s Halloween party and then–

She ran into Stella and her sisters. And then… Nothing.

Slowly, she sits up. Something is wrong. She notices she can actually see well in the darkness of the forest as she looks around. She sees the burnt-out candles and the spray drawings on the rocks. Letting out a breath, she looks at her own body in shock. Her skin is covered with a crimson substance that looks like blood; she starts checking herself for wounds, but the skin is smooth under it.

Her stomach rumbles. Is she… Hungry? No, it’s something else. It’s a need. A need for something she can’t explain. Otherwise, she feels okay. She feels great. She just needs to go home and eat. She’d call Mary in the morning and explain why she missed her party.

It’s like she’s on autopilot as she walks through the woods. She hears one single crow cawing in the distance. It reminds her of her mom that would always say it was bad luck when a crow caws on its own. It keeps cawing. And cawing and cawing. It makes her head hurt. She lets out a low growl on accident. The bird stops. Did she do that?

As she tries to find her way back home, the hunger intensifies. It eats her up on the inside. She’s never felt something like this, never felt a stronger feeling than the need for food right now. Wait, no. Not food. Something else. She still hasn’t figured it out.

Finally, she sees the main road. It leads to her neighborhood, so she starts walking on the side of it, slowly as her feet can get. It feels like she walks for hours until she hears laughter. She must be close to her house. Finally. She keeps walking, but she doesn’t see the familiar lights of the houses she’s used to. She hears voices. She recognizes them. She remembers hearing their laughter before…

She reaches a square just a few blocks from her school and she doesn’t know how she’d get here. She thought she was on the main road, walking home. She spots them sitting on the benches, smiles on their faces, happy looks in their eyes. They have cans of beer in their hands, and they’re cheering like they’re celebrating. It’s Stella and her sisters again. But this time she’s not scared. This time… This time she’s hungry.

They spot her when she’s far, and she stops walking when their laughter dies and the smiles drop from their faces. Stella tells her to fuck off, she doesn’t think she knows it’s her yet. She takes a step towards them and they tense. Their heartbeats go crazy, like a symphony of drums to her ears. They were scared and she liked that. It made her body vibrate like she felt when she kissed a boy for the first time.

But this is so much better. The hunger intensifies as she smells their fear and keeps walking towards them. One of Stella’s sister tells her to stay away, fuck, the girl is so scared she’s almost _wet_. When they finally recognize her, their eyes go wide and they freeze.

She wants to kill them all. She wants her revenge. But she’s liking this too much. So maybe she’ll play with them for a while, scare them a bit. Maybe she can go from the younger one first. She never liked her anyway. She never liked them all.

When she lunges towards them, they scream and there isn’t a sound she wants to hear more. She laughs but her voice is low, almost distorted. And then she attacks them.


	2. CHAPTER ONE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max is very confused about his feelings towards the new intern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Max’s pov in this one. waaay lighter than the prologue lol. i’m sorry if this feels slow! i promise they’ll get it going soon hehe. let me know what you think!
> 
> warnings: none on this chapter

Max Phillips can’t understand you. He doesn’t know why you’re so… _Happy_ to work at the office. You’re not a vampire, no, he knows that. As far as he knows, you’re human, you’re normal, you’re… So fucking attractive. And he doesn’t know why he’s so fascinated by you. It’s like you have a magnet in your core and his eyes are the opposite polar, made to get drawn to you. You could be doing the most mundane thing: typing a report or getting more paper for the printer and he’d be unable to tear his eyes from you.

And, fuck, you’re an _intern_. Usually, the branch wouldn’t hire interns so quickly, but something about you… Something about you made him want you here. Max was intrigued by you from the start when you showed up at the office with your resume in your hands and a smile on your face. You had shown up after his boss had announced corporate was demanding an intern program in the branch, so they had to go over several candidates, many of them disinterested in working in an office full of vampires.

But not you.

No, not you. You were radiating light and happiness the day of your interview. It’s like you knew you’d be hired on spot as soon as you entered the place. Max was a little suspicious, there’s no way someone would be actually happy to work for him. But there you were, on your first day of work, smiling and beaming joy.

He’s seen how the other employees treat you, making you run their errands for them like you were their assistant. They’d tell you to fill their reports, to prepare slideshow presentations, to get them coffee. It’s sad. But what intrigues him the most is that you do all these things with a smile on your face. You don’t complain, you’re never tired, always full of energy, and seem genuinely happy to work here.

It doesn’t make sense.

“Here you go,” you say as you gently place the coffee cup on Max’s table, “A hot brew for Mr. Max Phillips. And here’s your change.”

You hand him the money, as he looks up from his paperwork and frowns slightly

“I thought I told you to get one for yourself too, honey,” He says, taking a sip from the coffee.

“Oh, I don’t drink coffee, Mr. Phillips.” you laugh softly, “Makes me kinda anxious.”

Max clicks his tongue and tilts his head, tasting the bitter flavor of the brew on his mouth.

“You could’ve gotten some tea, then.” He then raises his eyebrows at you, “And I thought we made it clear you should call me Max, sweetie.”

You laugh nervously, “Sorry. _Max_.”

Max hears your heartbeat picking up as his own smile falters for a moment. Were those goosebumps on his skin? He hadn’t had them ever since he was turned into a vampire. The sensation is odd to him and he lost his train of thought, clearing his throat and adjusting his tie.

“Can you– Can you close the door for a minute?” He asks, his voice trembling just a bit, as he motions for you to sit on the chair across him, “Want to have a word with you.” He watches as your eyes widen in surprise and laughs softly, “Don’t worry, doll, you’re not fired.”

You relax a bit and do what he says, sitting on the chair as he leans on his desk, a hand in his pocket. His eyes wander to where your pencil skirt hitches when you cross a leg over the other and try to focus. The way your skirt reveals the lace in your stockings and just a little bit of the suspender belts would make his heart speed up. You know. If he was alive.

“So, you really like to work here, huh?” He asks after a moment of silence.

“Of course I do, Mr.– Max.” You beam at him, eyes crinkling in the corners. It bothers him that it doesn’t look fake at all, that your heartbeats were even not indicating one sign that you’re lying. He swallows hard.

“You-you always look happy here–” He clears his throat again, “B-but I’ve seen the way people treat you sometimes…”

“What do you mean, Mr. Ph– Max?” You frown, looking a little confused at him.

“Well, you let them boss you around, and… I’ve seen they treat you like dirt. Why do you let them?”

You hesitate for a moment, a confused look on your face as if you’ve never realized it.

“Well, everyone has their bad days.” With a shrug, you respond, “I try to see the best in people, no matter how… _mean_ they may be.”

Max looks at you for a moment as you shift uncomfortably on your seat. He picks up your heartbeat speeding once more as he speaks his next words.

“You’re so pure, aren’t you?” His voice is raspy, low as he looks down at you, watching every feature in your body.

“I don’t know what–”

“Almost _too_ pure.”

You’re hiding something, he knows it.

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Phil– Max.” Your voice is shaky as if you’re afraid of him. “I have to finish that report you told me to…”

“Yeah, of course!” He straightens his posture, smiling at you, going back to the usual sales manager self. When you turn to leave, he checks your ass, mumbling the next words, “Interesting outfit choice.”

“Sorry, what?” You face him again and only then he notices he voiced his thoughts, “You don’t like what I’m wearing?”

Max watches you as you look at him with big curious eyes. He opens his mouth and closes it, shaking his head and running through your body once more. What is it about you that makes him feel… _human_ again?

“I think you look fantastic,” he finally replies and you smile at him.

“Thank you, Max.”

…

Several weeks after that conversation, Max notices one day you come to work with dark circles under your eyes and a tired look on your face. You’re the same, but something is wrong. He watches as he leans on the doorframe of his office when you arrive and sit on your desk. You’re still smiling and talking to people as usual, but he notices the snarl on your face when Colin tells you to finish what he was supposed to. Max doesn’t know why he was so bothered by that.

Without even thinking, Max approaches you, entering your cubicle, and pulls an empty chair to sit beside you. Even though almost everyone in the office has to share their workspace with someone, you’re the only one that has your own. Today, you’re mostly quiet only speaking to him when you’re spoken to and he could see you look exhausted.

“Good morning, Max.” You greet him with a tired smile. You opted for a more casual outfit, sporting a light pink suit and pants, with a simple white shirt underneath it.

“Hey, sweetcheeks.” He smiles at you as you return your gaze to the computer screen, “Everything okay?”

When you look at him again, he notices the usual shine in your eyes is gone and your skin wasn’t clear and shiny, even though you’d put on several layers of foundation.

“Just a little tired.” You admit, shrugging.

“Rough night?” He doesn’t intend to, but it comes off as a tease. Or maybe he did intend to because the look you give him is priceless. Whenever he teased or said something that would possibly drive the head of HR crazy, you’d always play along, smiling and flirting back. But today, you’re different. The way you look at him… He can’t quite figure out what’s in your eyes and it bothers him so much.

“Quite the opposite, actually.” Your voice almost sounds different, almost _natural_. 

Max stares at you for a moment, trying to figure you out.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Philips.” You give him your signature smile, “I’ll be fine after a nice meal and a good night of sleep.”

He narrows his eyes at you, but slowly smiles at you. What’s happening? Why is he feeling like this? Like he’s the prey and you’re playing a game, getting a kick of hunting and playing him.

“Alright then, babydoll,” he says, standing up abruptly and adjusting his suit, ready to go back to his office.

Max’s attraction to you suddenly became too overwhelming and he needed to clear his thoughts. Huh, funny. Max hadn’t taken a break to clear his thoughts in a long time. He doesn’t get tired, so he doesn’t need it. But today… Fuck this day. It’s just different.

“Max?” Your voice is small when you call him, making him turn around to face you again.

“Yes?”

“Do you treat all your female employees like this?”

He stopped at that. Is this a trick question? 

“Like what?” He tries to play dumb.

“You know how, Max.” Your voice is serious like you’re demanding an answer.

He can’t tell if you liked it or not, your scent today is so neutral, he can’t tell if you… If you’re actually human. Clearing his throat, he pulls at the lapel of his suit again and looks away from you.

“I worry about all my employees.” He lies, “Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Oh.” You pout and frown in disappointment, “I thought I was special.”

Max chuckles at that and tilts his head, as you look away from him and returns your eyes to the screen. Without saying a word he turns on his heels and walks away from you.

By the end of the afternoon, Max makes a point to drop a huge stack of papers on Colin’s desk telling him to go over. Max senses your eyes on him as he tells Colin he doesn’t care he’d have to stay after and no, the intern can’t do it. When he turns and catches you staring, you swallow hard and return your eyes to the computer screen.

The following day, you’re back to your ‘normal self’ and Max watches you curiously as you enter the office smiling and glowing. You look better than ever as you sit down to work, even taking assignments and tasks that you’re not supposed to take.

On the other hand, Colin is nowhere to be seen. In the afternoon, he gets a call from said employee’s wife saying that his heart gave out and he died in his sleep.

Strange.

…

It’s a pattern, he notices. Once or twice a month, you’d show up at the office looking exhausted and overwhelmed, only to look glamorous and glowing the next day. It’s probably nothing, but Max can’t stop thinking about it. Not that he’s obsessed with you or anything. Not that he cares. But something isn’t right.

As the weeks pass, Max sees you full of energy, working on several projects at the same time and doing better than his actual employees. He’s starting to worry he’ll have to start turning more people than he predicted this month since the numbers in sales are dropping by the hour. He notices people are skipping work, looking exhausted in the office.

While you thrive.

“I see you’ve been working hard lately,” Max tells you when he calls you to have a word with you in his office, “Walking straight to that fixed-term contract.”

You beam at him, tilting your head and nodding, “Thank you, sir.” When he gives you a knowing look, you correct yourself, “Max.”

“That’s great.” He smiles at you, “But there’s one thing that I still haven’t figured you yet.”

“Oh?” You frown, growing concerned.

“You said you were planning on changing careers, right? That’s why you chose to work here…” He watched you as you bite your lower lips, nodding at him. “But you have a degree in history and anthropology?”

“I-I was told I didn’t need a degree in sales t-to work here.” You stumble over your words, speaking quickly to justify yourself.

“Oh, no, no, no, don’t worry about that, dear,” Max says, leaning his elbows on the wooden desk. “I was just curious… Why would you want to work in sales with a degree like that?”

You shrug shyly, looking away from him. “Well, to be frank… Being a history teacher doesn’t really pay the bills…”

Max watches as your posture changes as if you’re feeling inferior. Something inside squirms and he’s not sure if it’s just hunger or empathy for you. You make him _feel_ and he’s not sure if he likes it or not.

“Nothing wrong with wanting a better shot at life.” He hears himself saying, tone soft, very different from the boss persona he usually uses in the office. You look up at him, lips parted, hooded eyelids, and he doesn’t think you know what you’re doing to him. He hears your heartbeat picking up, your breath slightly hitching, and fights the urge to sit by your side and run his hand on your face.

“Yeah.” You breathe, almost inaudible.

A moment hangs between you two and Max doesn’t understand what is going on. It kills him on the inside, being so confused about his own feelings. The tension between you two only grows each day that passes, each conversation, and each flirtation. Does Max like that?

“Well!” He breaks the tension, snapping your file shut and smiling at you. “That settles it, then! You’re free to go, sweetcheeks.”

A soft laugh escapes your lips and you nod once, standing up from your seat and walking to the door. You stop with your hand on the doorknob and turn back to him.

“Max.” You call him and watch as he doesn’t take his eyes off his paperwork to look at you.

“Hm?”

“I’m really grateful for working here.”

Max looks up at you and raises his eyebrows, surprised with your words.

“My last workplace wasn’t…” You hesitate, “It wasn’t as nice as here. You’re a good boss.”

He blinks at you, shocked, speechless. No one ever complimented him on his work and the praise makes him feel… Good? He clears his throat, mumbles a _you’re welcome_ and watches you as you leave his office. Through the blinders, he sees you take your seat on your cubicle, frowning at something Brandon says to you.

Maybe you’re not hiding anything. Maybe you’re just someone who’s trying to live by.

And he doesn’t know why this disappoints him.


	3. CHAPTER TWO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You start to question how you feel about your boss, Max Phillips, when an accident happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no interaction between them in this chapter, but i promise you it’s important. a little backstory about the reader, and this was mildly inspired by a discovery of witches?? i’m not completely satisfied with this, but i think you guys deserve something instead of being kept in the dark about this lol ):
> 
> warnings: blood, mentions of sex and murdering people, mockery of christian people, a little bit of angst at the end if you squint.

You open your eyes at the sound of the alarm going off. Groaning, you slam it shut and rub your eyes, trying to get rid of sleep. It’s been three weeks since your last meal and you’re feeling more exhausted the more the window stretches.

You’ve been… Reluctant to feed ever since Colin.

He wasn’t the first one in the office, oh no. You tried to control yourself. But you hated this shit job and everyone who worked with you.

The first one was Mike. He had touched you inappropriately on your first day and when you went to talk to HR, they told you other women had complained about him, but there was nothing they could do. You didn’t completely kill him, though, just took what he liked the most from him: his manhood.

He hasn’t been able to put it up ever since.

Matthew was next. He kept telling you he’d “write about you” in his future book and you didn’t know if it was a good or a bad thing. Either way, he kept bragging about how he peaked in high school and still acted like he was in high school. That annoyed you.

Paul was the third. He was a christian. Pretty self-explanatory.

Colin… Well, Colin just pissed you off. And you didn’t mean to kill him, you really didn’t. But he was enjoying it a little too much and you sucked the life out of him for that. Literally. You had to admit the office got a lot lighter after he was gone.

But it was an accident and ever since you’ve been holding yourself back, being careful to not kill every man that works with you. People are going to get suspicious. But you can’t help if you hate all of them.

But there’s someone you hate the most in the entire office. Your boss, Max Phillips.

Constantly calling you names, calling you to his office to tell you stupid things, like office gossip, and wasting your time. His arrogance and inflated ego irritate you on a whole new level. Every time he calls in a meeting or gives everyone a pep talk, you want to wrap your hands around his neck and snap it like a twig.

He’s the only one you can’t actually kill, given that he’s a fucking vampire. Well, he’s not the only vampire in the office, given that he changed a few people. But those are the vampires who never take advantage of you for being an intern, they’re always focused on their job, never paying attention to you. Max Phillips on the other hand… He gets under your skin. But, technically, he doesn’t have a life you can feed from. You could kill him, but killing vampires is way too messy for you. Not your style. Plus, it’s commonly known that vampire blood is bad for other creatures, so, for now, you feed from the other men in the office and maybe, when you’re done, you’ll move on to the next male predominant job and continue to do what you’ve been doing for decades.

You can’t win them all.

Last time he called you to his office, you were so glad your seduction powers worked on vampires too, because he would’ve not bought the sweet, innocent act if it wasn’t for them. Max is starting to get to you, getting too curious about your past and you can’t afford it now. The money was one of the reasons why you started working in that office, but it wasn’t the main one. 

You just needed a change of careers. You know you need to work in a male predominant workplace, due to your… Necessities of feeding on men. You knew there were other options, easy ways of luring men into your traps, but you were just… tired. You just needed to change your life.

It’s funny to think you’ve lived this long and still don’t know what to do. You still don’t know what you want to be. Sure, your degrees were useful for a while, but no one cares about anthropology anymore. Being a teacher helped you for a while, but you grew bored of it quickly. So you dabbled here and there, always looking for something that will fulfill you.

Who’d think being immortal would be that hard?

With a sigh, you sit on the bed and stretch, trying to feel lighter. It doesn’t work. After showering, brushing your teeth and applying some makeup on your face, you finally grab your phone to check on unread texts. There’s only one, from your friend Liz.

**Liz:** _Woke up with a bad feeling today. Please be careful._

Sighing, you lock the phone and start choosing your outfit for the day. You met Liz in London, when you were starting to do research on what happened to you and were lucky enough to run into a very kind witch. You’ve been friends for decades now, sharing your deepest secrets and telling each other everything. When you moved back to the US, she stayed in her country. You didn’t blame her. Her coven, her family is there.

You keep in touch regardless, always texting and calling each other. She knows about you, of course, it was one of the first things you told her about yourself. At the time, you didn’t understand quite well what it meant, what had happened to you. She and her family helped you to do research and took you in like you were one of their own.

But of course, you weren’t.

You’ve never met anyone like you. As far as you know, you’re a rare case, something unique. What happened to you was terrible, of course, but you’re sure you were not the only non virgin, mistakenly sacrificed in history. But, as far as you know, you’re the only one who turned into…

After dressing up, you finally text Liz back telling her you will be careful today. Then, you’re off to work.

Your first mistake was smiling at Brandon. At first, you didn’t notice the lack of color on his face or how he looked more groomed than usual, but when you had to go down to the lower levels of the building to get some files you needed, it was clear.

Two cold hands grabbed your hips, startling you. The files you were holding slip from your hands and fall to the ground. Turning around quickly, you see Brandon, eyes flashing red, and a thirsty look in his eyes. He says your name in a way that makes your skin crawl.

So Max turned him.

It’s nothing personal when your boss decides to turn someone into a vampire. It happens, maybe once or twice a month, when someone’s numbers are low, Max’s strategy to help the branch not to shut down is strange, but effective. So far, there isn’t an issue with it.

Until now.

Brandon flashes his fangs at you as he approaches, slowly, “I’ve noticed you’ve been looking at me, lately,” he says, malice in his voice.

“W-what?” You stutter, feeling your heartbeat speed.

“Come on.” He grabs your wrist with a strong grip, “You know you want it. You and I both know I’m not the only vampire you wish you fucked, right?”

“What are you talking about, let me go!” You tell him, glancing a look at the door. Brandon laughs, shaking his head.

“If you try to run, I’ll catch you…”

Abruptly, you snatch your wrist away from his grip and push him away from you, making him fall to the floor. He looks at you, confused by your change of behavior.

“If you don’t back away, you’ll regret it.” You warn him, taking a step backwards. In a second he’s on his feet, facing you again. You look at him, unamused as he smiles down at you, already reaching for you again.

“I like it when they put up a fi–”

In a moment, Brandon is snarling at you and in the other, your hand is sinking into his chest. You didn’t mean to, you really didn’t. But as his body explodes like a bag of warm blood covering the entire basement, the realization sinks in. You stop for a moment, wiping the vampire blood from your eyes and breath out.

“Fuck!” You put your hand on your mouth, looking at the now crimson walls. His blood – or better yet, _he_ is everywhere. The walls, the floor, the shelves, the files, _you_. It drips and it rolls down the furniture, making it a puddle on the floor that makes you want to gag. You already feel dizzy, vision blurring, whether from your tears or the blood, you don’t know.

With shaky hands, you reach for your phone in your pocket and dial the number of your only friend. She picks up after three rings, with a shaky whisper of your name.

“Liz.” You whimper, “Liz, I fucked up.”

…

The water of the tub is warm as they lower you down, sinking your entire body underwater. The delicate hands run through your body, scrubbing the blood off of you with special spices and herbs as you’re submerged.

When you called Liz, telling her what you’ve done, she instructed you to drive until the nearest Coven, the one whose witches are familiar with her family. You did what she said, glad for not bringing your purse to work today, because your car keys were in your pocket. So you were able to sneak away from the office. By the time you got here, the witches were already waiting for you.

You don’t know what you’d do without Liz. She literally saved your skin even living miles away. The rash is already fading away as the herbs do their job, mixed with the water. It relaxes you, soothing and comforting you. You knew you could take Brandon down when he tried to force himself over you. But, demon or not, immortal or not, you’ll always be a woman. The things men have tried to do with you in your lifetime… They still scare you, no matter what.

The witches tell you to stay in the tub for a little longer, to make sure you’re completely clean and so you obey them. It’s not every witch that sympathizes with a succubus, but if Liz trusts them, you trust them. Closing your eyes, you lean your head back on the edge of the tub, the smell of the flowers reaching your nose. It’s only the middle of the day, and you’ve managed to run into trouble. You haven’t even greeted Max in the office.

Your mind flies back to his brown eyes and his gentle smile. That day, when you haven’t been feeding and were feeling like shit, when he pulled a chair to ask you if you were okay, comes to your mind without a warning.

Wait, why are you thinking about him? You hate him, the image of his eyes shouldn’t be comforting to you. Suddenly, every memory you have with him comes to your mind. From the moment you met him, to the moment you saw him last.

With a jolt, you stand from the tub, water splashing on the floor. Unable to stand the thought of Max Phillips anymore, you reach for the nearest towel and leave the bathroom, soaking wet. The women in the house offer you some clean clothes while they prepare some food.

Only then, you realize it’s dark outside and you panic. Have you been in that tub for that long?

When you sit at the table to have dinner with the coven – which they insisted and refused to let you pay them with money –, you mostly stay in silence and let them speak, politely answering their questions and eating their food.

“You haven’t fed in a while,” one of the oldest in the coven, Willa, says as you play with your food. You look at her and swallow, straightening your back. You don’t have a habit of telling people what you are, in fact, Liz’s coven was the only one that knew about you until today. It’s not that you’re afraid, you just have kept your secret for so long that it feels weird that someone else knows about you.

“No, I haven’t.” Your voice is small as you look away from her.

“I hope you weren’t trying to eat that vampire.” She scoffs, a smile curving her lips.

“Oh, no, I don’t eat people,” you quickly explain, “I use the _Vitalis Navitas_ technique. It’s less messy, you know? It’s hard to get away with murder these days.” A nervous laugh leaves your lips, but none of them laughs with you.

“Then why did you kill that vampire?” Another witch asks with a frown between her brows.

A beat of silence passes as all of them stare at you. “He t-tried to–” You stutter, “He tried to touch me.”

“Well, then he deserved it,” Willa says matter-of-factly, “but next time, leave it to the people who are paid for it.”

It’s well known that witches despite vampires. Something about a very powerful witch and a vampire eloping many, _many_ years ago and creating a whole species of half blood vampires that disturbed the balance in the magic dimension. There was a massacre but you didn’t really study deep into it. It’s not your problem, not your business. All you know is that their beef never really ended and, to this day, there are hunters paid by both witches and vampires to hunt and kill each species.

Again, not your business.

Willa seems to have a personal grudge with vampires with the way her eyes hardened as she spoke about the vampire you killed. Something about her doesn’t sit well with you. You can’t put your finger on it, but you know there’s something more. She seems like someone who knows a lot and, if this was your early years, you’d ask her about your… Situation. But it’s not worth it anymore. 

Decades of unanswered questions have unmotivated you to continue your search for the truth. 

As the evening goes on, you thank the coven, offering some money again. They refuse again and you feel guilty, having them help you, eating their food. But they just send you off in your – now clean – car and wish you a good night.

When you finally get home, the empty apartment gives you a lonely feeling. You opted for a smaller place when you moved to New York, no need for a spacious place when it’s just you, right?

Sighing, you throw your keys in the ceramic bowl by the door and head straight to your bedroom, pulling the gown the witches loaned to you over your head and fall on the bed, letting your back hit the mattress. Staring at the ceiling, you think back when you were in that bathtub and how your thoughts wandered off to Max Phillips. Of all people… why him? What is it about him, about his brown eyes that makes you feel this way? You thought you despised the vampire, but are your feelings towards him wrong?

Suddenly, you feel your cheeks wet and sit up, wiping at the tears that rolled down on your skin, surprised by them. Huh, it’s been a while since the last time you cried. You must be more exhausted than you thought. You’re crying because you feel lonely, right? You just need to feed. You need someone’s vital energy so you can focus on your work better, so you can have the energy to actually shove these bad feelings inside again.

You need to feed real soon, or your natural instincts will take over you. And, as you said, it’s hard to get away with murder these days.


	4. CHAPTER THREE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A friend makes an appearance and tries to intimidate you. Little do they know, you don’t get scared that easily. Meanwhile, Max tries to figure out why are you so nervous when the subject is the murder of one of the vampire employees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warnings: sexual tension?, vampire shenanigans, Max being a dominant boss, mentions of blood, cursing, death threats?

“Brandon was killed.” Max announces to the office. A few human heart beats reach his supernatural ears, but there’s one who skyrockets.

Yours.

When he runs his eyes through the briefing room, looking at each worried eyes, he finds yours. Your heartbeat speeds abnormally and you look away. He notices your breathing is getting uneven and the smell of your fear in the air. So you’re scared of him. That’s a first.

“I’m not accusing anyone.” He continues, looking at his employees, “But he did get killed in our basement, so it’s not looking good for any of you.” A few murmurs echo in the room, people looking at each other, sharing furrowed brows and confused looks, “So, because he was a vampire and we can’t afford being exposed to the local hunter club I’ll be asking all of you a few questions privately.”

The murmurs and mumbling become sounds of protest and confused questions fill the space, but Max notices you keep quiet, not uttering a sound.

“Shouldn’t the authorities take take of this?” The shy receptionist, Amber, asks with a frown between her brows.

“Ah!” Max smiles at her, pulling at the lapels of his jacket suit, “I’m glad you brought it up, Amber! Let me tell you something about vampires and the government–”

“Mr. Phillips?” Your voice interrupts him and before he can say anything, you’re speaking again, “Why do we care about Brandon?”

The briefing room fell silent.

“I’m sorry?” Max laughs confused.

“I mean… He was an asshole. A disgusting man. Vampire or not we all hated him.” You continue as some of the humans nod in agreement, “Frankly, I don’t really give a shit who killed him. I’m glad he’s gone.”

A moment of silence follows your little outburst and Max watches as you swallow hard, probably realizing your words might have cost you your job. Then, a loud sigh echoes the room followed by a voice that Max hadn’t heard in a while.

“What do _you_ know?” She says, leaning on the doorframe, “You’re just an intern.”

“Zabeth…” Max sighs, slumping his shoulders.

“What?” Zabeth laughs softly, her shoulders shaking the long soft curls of her hair, “Am I wrong? She _is_ just an intern, isn’t she?”

The woman shoots him a knowing look. She shouldn’t be here, he knows how reckless and impulsive she can be. Which is why he transferred her after he left the office he was managing. She was a shy receptionist back then, before he turned her. Now she’s bold, seductive, impulsive, reckless, dangerous. After he left that office and was hired at this branch, he left someone – a vampire – in charge of things, but obviously Zabeth wasn’t satisfied.

Choosing to ignore her, Max wraps up the meeting reminding everyone that he _will_ , in fact, interrogate all of them. As soon as people start leaving, Zabeth occupies his line of vision, but he can see when you leave with a frown between your brows, a worried look on your face. Then, he turns his attention back on the vampire in front of him.

“Zabeth, you don’t work here,” he tells her, firmly. She just smiles at him, her long fingers playing with his tie.

“I’m just visiting.” A malicious smile is plastered on her face, eyes glowing yellow, “You missed our… meeting last month.”

He sighs, looking away from her. Through the clear window, he caught a glimpse of you looking at them. You look tired again. Messy hair, crumpled clothes, circles under your eyes, eyes so… lifeless. He frowned softly, watching as you tear you gaze away from them only when Zabeth looks at you.

“Oh.” She half laughs, half scoffs, “It’s her, isn’t it? You’re turning interns now?”

“What I do with _my_ office branch is none of your business.” Max wraps his hands tightly around her wrists, pulling her away from him.

“I can hear her heartbeat from all across the office,” she continues with something malevolent in her tone, something that would send a human running away. But Max is unamused as he adjusts the lapel of his suit and looks at her dead in the eyes, “I bet she tastes like virgin’s blood.”

At that, Max scoffs, “Stay away from my employees, Zabeth. I’m the only one who can turn them.” He doesn’t look at her as he speaks, instead, concentrating his gaze at the office, “Don’t you have a job to do? At your own office? With a different boss?” He watches as she narrows her eyes at him, “I believe I put Andrew in charge… Weren’t you fucking him when I left?”

Zabeth lets out a growl, crossing her arms and pouting angrily, like a little kid, “Andrew and I are history.”

He finally looks at her, raising his eyebrows, “Already?! It’s been what, five years?”

“ _Six_.” She corrects him, rolling her eyes. Max lets out a low whistle, “Oh, shut it. I should’ve known it was going nowhere… After all, he wasn’t the one who gave me eternal life.”

Max sighs one more time. He had it coming, he can’t lie. After he left the other office, leaving Andrew in charge, he knew he was leaving some loose ends, and _no_ , he doesn’t mean turning Amanda and having his revenge on Evan, whom he fired and made a point to leave him alive. He means that every time he turns someone, they see him as a savior, as a god. And Max _really_ took advantage of that in the first years of his career, but after a decade it got very tiring. Now he just wants to do his job the way he’s supposed to.

“Zabeth,” Max says, touching her shoulders and rubbing his hands on her upper arms, “be a doll and leave, alright? You don’t work here, go bother someone else, m’kay?”

The vampire narrows her eyes at him, fury behind them, “I meant what I said,” she whispers in a malevolent tone, “I bet she tastes like virgin blood. I _hope_ she does.”

At that, Max clutches her upper arms tighter, keeping her in place. His eyes glow red as a low growl leaves his throat, dominance exhaling from his body.

“I said,” he growls, “stay away from my employees.”

Zabeth just looks at him with an amusing smile on her face, “Your employees… Or _her_?”

Any comeback that Max had on the tip of his tongue is silenced by a commotion in the office. He hears your voice angrily snapping at someone.

“Goddammit, Lydia!” You snap at the other woman as you quickly pad the coffee spilled files with her coworker’s kleenexes, trying to recover them before it’s too late.

The incident happens just when you were eavesdropping on Max’s conversation with the vampire you don’t know. She's… even worse than Max. How is that possible?

Years have taught you that it’s not worth it to keep comparing yourself to other women, but that one… Zabeth seems like the kind of woman who loves to put others down, just to feel better. And it seems that she took a liking to the vampire who turned her.

Max’s overprotection is flattering, but only if he knew that you don’t need it at all… Speaking of it, your little outburst back in the conference room is not making you look pretty in the picture, you’re well aware of that. Now Max will want to ask you questions about Brandon and you’re not sure if you’re ready for that.

As you desperately try to wash off the coffee stain from your white blouse, you think about the pros and cons of telling Max you killed one of his employees. He seemed very overprotective of his vampires, so he definitely won’t let it slide. He’ll probably fire you. Or kill you.

_If that’s the case, he’s gonna have a hell of a surprise,_ you laugh softly at yourself.

At the same time, the door to the bathroom opens and Zabeth makes her way in, eyeing you as she walks towards you. You keep your eyes down, resuming to rub the wet paper towel on your clothes.

“Nice skirt,” she compliments and you can’t tell if it comes from a good place. Frowning, you look at her reflection in the mirror.

“Thank–”

“So, you’re the new intern.” It’s not a question. There’s a judgmental tone in her voice, like you’re something dirty and nasty, “You know what Mr. Phillips used to do with interns back when I worked for him?”

She waits for you to answer, but you give her a shrug and offer a stupid reply, “I don’t know, kill them?”

“Yes,” she smiles at you, laughing under her breath, “you would think he’d turn them, make them useful to the company. But, no. He would just kill them, merciless. I wonder if he’s gone soft, hiring interns left and right…”

“Maybe he changed his managing methods,” you offer, throwing the paper in the bin and sighing. You turn on your heels, facing Zabeth, “did you need something?”

The vampire narrows her eyes and lets out a scoff, “You’re really brave, you know? Talking to a vampire like that.”

It’s your turn to scoff at her, “I’m not scared of you. Or _any_ other vampire in this office.”

Zabeth snarls, showing off her fangs as she moves to grab your neck. But you’re faster and act before thinking. Again. Your hand comes to hold her wrist, clasping it tightly, just like Max had done it to her a few minutes ago. Except your grip is even stronger than his.

“Careful,” you warn her, leaning your face closer to her, “you wouldn’t want to end up like Brandon, would you?”

She looks at you with a surprised look on her face, but tries to conceal it as soon as you let go of her, pushing her away from you. The push isn’t close to what you did to Brandon, but it’s strong enough so she takes a few steps back, “You’re not a human.” She concludes, after looking at you with widened eyes.

Sighing, you make your walk to the door and nod, as you stop with your hand on the doorknob.

“I gotta give you props.” You smile at her, “You figured it out faster than that idiot in charge.”

“He’ll know about this,” Zabeth threatens, quickly walking to you and pressing a palm on the door, keeping it closed, “You’ll be out of here in a second.”

A smile splits your face as you act nonchalant, “And who’s he’s going to believe? His precious intern? Or a jobless vampire who comes begging him for a quick fuck and a job in an office?”

Zabeth wasn’t waiting for that. And you know it because her snarl fades away from her face and her fangs retract immediately. She slowly lets go of the door, but before you leave, you look at her with sympathetic eyes.

“You seem very new to immortality,” you start, facing her fully and looking in her eyes, “so here’s an advice from woman to woman. Forever is a long time. Especially when you don’t die, so coexisting with other creatures might get tiring… So choose well who you’re going to live forever with.”

You don’t wait for her to respond and leave the restroom, unaware that Max Phillips is watching you from his office.

…

Alright, now that you’ve calmed down, you think that maybe you shouldn’t have snapped at Zabeth. But she was pushing too hard and it made you angry. Your lack of energy is making you bolder, aggressive and emotional, something you’re not looking forward to. If you don’t feed soon, you’ll snap harder and the consequences will be unbearable. Last time it happened… You don’t even like to remember it.

It was just bad. To the point where you–

“Hey, sweetcheeks.” Max’s voice interrupts your inner monologue. You close your eyes and take a deep breath before turning to face him with a plastic smile.

“Hi, Mr. Phillips,” you greet. When Max gives you a look, you pretend to sigh and shake your head, like you were caught. Fuck, you’re too tired for this, “Max. Sorry.”

“Before we talk about Brandon…” He pulls a chair and sits beside you, invading your cubicle, “I’m sorry about Zabeth.”

_That_ catches you by surprise. It leaves you with your mouth hanging open and eyebrows raised, because Max Phillips is apologizing to you for the behaviour of another vampire. Max Phillips the boss who doesn’t give two shits about the humans in his office as long as they’re making his numbers go up. You don’t know why that makes your heart skip a beat, but it does. And yes, you’re well aware that he can listen to it, which is why you swallow hard and try to shake the feeling out of you.

“Who?” You try to play nonchalant after, clearing your throat. Max grins, laughing softly and you smile too, feeling your stomach bubbles with something familiar, “Don’t worry about it.” You shrug as you look back at the computer screen, “I mean she’s right, I _am_ just an intern. The hell do I know about anything?”

He frowns at you, giving you a knowing, “C’mon, you know better than talk about yourself like that.”

You look back at him, the familiar feeling hitting you like a train again; pressing your lips together, you narrow your eyes slightly, a soft frown between your brows, “Don’t– My point is I don’t really care, so…”

Max smiles at you and nods, “Yeah, you shouldn’t.”

It takes an incredible amount of will to tear your gaze away from him and nod; you clear your throat and start typing anything on an excel sheet to occupy your hands. Max clears his throat too, wheeling his chair closer to you. You hold your breath as he approaches, his lips closer to your ear, sending a chill down your spine. He knows what he’s doing, he has to. You don’t understand why he suddenly changed his behavior towards you.

Does he know about… Shit, Zabeth must’ve told him. Of course she would, she’s not an idiot.

“Did you kill Brandon?” He says, voice slow and raspy. It’s like the tables have been turned, like you’re the prey now and he’s hunting you. Even worse, it’s like he’s playing with you before hunting you down. Like a wild cat, playing with its prey before eating it.

“N-No,” you manage to say, swallowing hard and using the last of the energy you have to keep your heartbeat steady.

“So, that little outburst back in the briefing room was for nothing?” He snaps quietly, his voice going an octave lower, his eyes flashing red for a second.

“M-Max–”

Max reaches over and takes your hands in his cold ones. He looks into your widened eyes and smiles, like he just told you did a good job on those excel sheets.

“If I come to find you’re the one who killed him, pumpkin, _I will kill you_ , alright?” The smile on his face makes you sick in your stomach, “No matter how good of an employee you are. Or how hot you look in those skirts.”

You blink and he’s already standing up, letting go of your hand, “Keep up the good work, sweetheart.”

Max leaves you in your cubicle, taken aback and confused. It’s not like you’re scared of him, you know he can’t kill you, not even if he tried. What took you by surprise was the threat. He spoke it with such simplicity that you’d think he was ordering a coffee. You wonder if he had threatened other people in the office and anger starts blooming inside your chest.

How dare he speak with you like that? You’re a powerful being, a creature capable of ripping flesh with your own teeth, capable of manipulation and seduction and he– He’s a fucking vampire. You tense your jaw as you look back at the computer screen, your vision now clouded by hatred.

If only you could kill him. He’d already be a memory, a distant whisper that no one would remember. If it was up to you, Max Phillips would have been gone in the moment you set foot in this place.


End file.
